Simona Halep, weary and aching, to face Sloane Stephens in Montreal final

Simona Halep of Romania celebrates her victory over Ashleigh Barty of Australia during semifinals play at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018 in Montreal. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP)(Photo: The Associated Press)

MONTREAL – A weary Simona Halep, upset over how her matches are scheduled, beat Ashleigh Barty 6-4, 6-1 on Saturday to reach the final Rogers Cup final.

The top-ranked Romanian will play for the title Sunday against the third-ranked Sloane Stephens in a rematch of Halep’s victory in the French Open final.

Stephens, preparing for her U.S. Open title defense, beat fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-3.

Halep reached the Rogers Cup final for the third time in four years. She won the last time it was in Montreal in 2016.

Halep complained Friday about playing the first semifinal day after two consecutive night matches. She contended she has the worst schedule in the 56-player event and “this happens almost every tournament.”

Despite playing on 15 hours rest, Halep was in control from the outset against the 15th-seeded Barty, eliminating the Australian in 71 minutes.

“I was very sore when I woke up,” Halep said. “During the match, it’s not easy to run so much. But, you know, I just tried to focus on what I have to play and, to make it a little bit easier, which I did in the end, was to finish it early.”